Gripper strip installing tool



Jan. 28, 1964 A. H. KINNEAR GRIPPER STRIP INSTALLING TOOL Filed Oct. 12, 1960 T 1 :11-

JQ/ll INVENTOR fill 0n H- z'nn ear TTORNEYS United States 3,119,727 GREPPER STRIP INSTALLKNG TOOL Allan H. Kinnear, Thompsonville, (101111., assignor to Bigelow-Sanford, Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed (Pet. 12, 1969, Ser. No. 62,112 Claims. (Cl. 156 579) Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear and be better understood from the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a gripper strip installing tool embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section view illustrating the gripper strip installing tool shown in FIG. 1 as applied to a carpet gripper strip;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing configuration of the bottom of the installing tool shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a portion of a carpet gripper strip; and

FIG. 5 is a view in vertical section of the gripper strip shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawing in detail, there is a carpet gripper strip ltl which is customarily used for the tackless installation of wall-to-wall carpeting.

Such a carpet gripper strip generally comprises a relatively thin strip 11 of wood or other suitable material having an upper surface from which the pointed ends of two spaced parallel rows of nails or tacks 12 project upwardly. The upwardly projecting ends of the nails are inclined in a direction inclined so as to engage with and hold the carpet taut with the nails in one row being staggered or offset with respect to the nails in the other row.

The gripper strip may be installed on a supporting surface 13, such as a cement floor or the like, without the use of nails by applying a quick-setting adhesive 14 in the form of a strip-like layer to the supporting surface or floor and then pressing the gripper strip into place on said strip-like layer of adhesive. To obtain a secure bond between the strip, the adhesive and the floor which will hold the strip against the force exerted upon it by the carpet, it is desirable to press the gripper strip into firm contact with the strip-like layer of adhesive as by striking the top of the gripper strip with a hammer. However, the upwardly projecting nails interfere with striking the strip directly.

The present invention overcomes this difiiculty and prevents the nails from being bent down by providing an installing tool which contacts with surface areas on the top of the strip between and on the outer sides of the two rows of nails and which can be slid along the strip without interference from the nails. As shown, the installing tool is in the form of an elongated block 15 having a base portion 16 and an upwardly extending portion or top 17. The upper portion may be shaped so that it can be conveniently held by the hand of the installer and an impact receiving member 18 of pressed wood or other suitable material may be mounted on the upper surface thereof to receive the hammer blows.

The base has guide flanges 19 and 20 which extend downwardly from the bottom thereof at the front and back edges, respectively. The guide flanges define a channel 21 in the bottom of the base which is open at its ends atent ice and which extends lengthwise of the base. In addition, the bottom face of the base contains two sub-channels or grooves 22 and 23 which enter into the channel 21 and which are separated from each other by a partition 24. The sub-channels also extend lengthwise of the base and are positioned so that each will accommodate the upwardly projecting nails in one row when the bottom of the base is placed on top of a gripper strip with its guide flanges located on opposite sides of the strip. With the base in this position, the installing tool can be moved freely along the gripper strip without interference from the nails in a lengthwise direction while remaining in contact with the upper surface of the strip.

The guide flanges are somewhat shorter than the thickness of the gripper strip to permit the bottom of the channel 20 and the end face of the partition 24 to rest directly upon the upper surface of the gripper strip. Thus, the impact of the hammer blows on top of the block are transmitted to the strip and the bottom of the strip is forced into contact with the adhesive layer.

If desired, the top of the installing tool may be provided with transverse apertures 25 to receive a tool or the fingers of the installer in sliding the block along the strip.

In order to avoid possible interference with movement of the tool along the strip by misplaced or out of line nails, the base may be made of metal or other hard material which the nails will not readily engage or penetrate. It will also be understood that the tool may be made as one piece or of several pieces which are assembled together.

It will be apparent that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A tool for installing a carpet gripper strip having two parallel rows of nails extending upwardly from an upper surface thereof, which comprises a block, said block having a bottom face containing a pair of spaced, parallel open-ended recesses extending lengthwise thereof and flat contact surfaces extending along opposite sides of the recesses, each of said recesses coinciding with one of the rows of nails projecting upwardly from the gripper strip and having a bottom spaced above the ends of the nails, and guide means carried by the block and engaging with at least one edge of the gripper strip for guiding the block in lengthwise movement relative to the gripper strip.

2. A tool adapted for use in securing a tackless type of carpet gripper strip which has spaced parallel rows of carpet engaging members extending from its upper sur face to a floor surface, said tool comprising an elongated block having a fiat lower face shaped for engagement with portions of an upper surface and opposite side edges of a carpet gripper strip, said lower surface containing an open-ended channel defined by downwardly extending flanges which extend lengthwise of said block and inwardly extending strip-engaging shoulders located at the upper ends of said flanges, said lower face also containing a a pair of open-ended channels extending lengthwise of the block in spaced parallel relation to each other, said pair of channels being formed in the upper surface of the first mentioned channel and being separated by a partition terminating at a strip engaging end surface in alignment with the inwardly extending strip-engaging shoulders.

3. A tool for installing a carpet gripper strip as defined in claim 2 wherein the elongated block includes a base of a hard material and a top portion mounted on said base and extending upwardly therefrom.

4. A tool for installing a carpet gripper strip as defined in claim 2 wherein the elongated block includes a base of a hard material and a top portion mounted on said base and extending upwardly therefrom, said top portion having a pair of transverse tool-receiving openings extending therethrough.

5. A tool adapted for use in securing a tacleless type of carpet gripper strip to a floor surface, said tool comprising an elongated block having a base formed of a relatively hard material, said base having a downwardly facing surface containing a pair of spaced open-ended channels extending lengthwise thereof, said channels being shaped to receive carpet engaging members projecting upwardly from a carpet gripper strip, a partition separating said channels and terminating at a fiat gripper strip engaging surface, a gripper strip engaging shoulders extending outwardly from an outer side of each of the channels in alignment with the gripper strip engaging 15 4 surface of the partition and a guide flange extending lengthwise of the base and downwardly therefrom adjacent at least one of the shoulders, said guide flange being shorter than the thickness of the gripper strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 590,023 Robinson Sept. 14, 1897 624,961 Muller May 16, 1899 2,573,466 Lyijynen Oct. 30, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 451,793 Great Britain Aug. 12, 1936 

1. A TOOL FOR INSTALLING A CARPET GRIPPER STRIP HAVING TWO PARALLEL ROWS OF NAILS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM AN UPPER SURFACE THEREOF, WHICH COMPRISES A BLOCK, SAID BLOCK HAVING A BOTTOM FACE CONTAINING A PAIR OF SPACED, PARALLEL OPEN-ENDED RECESSES EXTENDING LENGTHWISE THEREOF AND FLAT CONTACT SURFACES EXTENDING ALONG OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE RECESSES, EACH OF SAID RECESSES COINCIDING WITH ONE OF THE ROWS OF NAILS PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE GRIPPER STRIP AND HAVING A BOTTOM SPACED ABOVE THE ENDS OF THE NAILS, AND GUIDE MEANS CARRIED BY THE BLOCK AND ENGAGING WITH AT LEAST END EDGE OF THE GRIPPER STRIP FOR GUIDING THE BLOCK IN LENGTHWISE MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE GRIPPER STRIP. 